Sintra is a fairytale town.

Castles with moor inspired architecture – built by a Brit.

TukTuk rides – which are crazy for Greg & I.

Beautiful views.

Okay, I am going to do a chronological zig zag. And there are no photos just a story.

Remember how I mentioned that we are not watching TV nor reading newspapers because we are not fluent in Portuguese. Well that offers a twist as we did not know until Saturday night at 6:00p that Hurricane Leslie was a ‘thing’ let alone heading towards us in Aveiro, Portugal 😳 yikes. We are okay as the real damage was south of us about 20miles – whew. A lot closer than we would have liked. The good news is that we stayed in a guest home with a lovely and seemingly responsible family. And the home was built well. As the rain & wind came in – the gusts were crazy strong and we were safe. We are very lucky as our first lodging choice was at the beach and they sustained significant damage. There was no availability at the beach – whew- and so our story is safe and a bit boring. In this case, just the way we liked it.

…and some reflections

Cannot believe that we have been exploring for over 4 weeks. Last night, I paused for a few reflections.

We have stayed in hostels, inches and feet away from complete & total strangers.

Met amazing people from around the world.

Had fascinating conversations. David from Columbus Ohio, you have been engaged in a FB group planning your pilgrimage for a few years and we get to share dinner with you on your first night -exciting. Yes, Noel from Ireland, Americans are really fat. And yes, Dione from Canada volunteer work is very fulfilling. And yes Diego from Argentina you do look younger than your 42 years and I am going to go to Mass down the street. And, yes Mike, I do think you will finish the Camino and it is crazy how we “civilized” pilgrims hang our underwear from the balcony of our hostels. To name a few.

Two days ago was the first time I had watched CNN since Sept 10. And really the first time that we watched or had a TV since our adventure began. The hostels & guest houses don’t have TVs. And most of the hotels do not have English shows. CNN was the only English show choice.

I have not held a newspaper nor a magazine in over a month. Tho, I read NYTimes & USA Today on my iPad regularly – tho sometimes due to WIFI restrictions will miss 2-3 days at a time.

I do know that my beloved Milwaukee Brewers are winning post season games

Outside of using WhatsApp to communicate with Jack – I have not texted nor had a phone conversation in over 4 weeks.

And I have not driven a car in over 4 weeks.

The last 2 nights we watched the sun set at a point just a few miles from the western most point in continental Europe. And Greg & I were amazed to think how close Boston Harbor was to us. And as we rode our bikes along the Atlantic, pausing to admire the surf, it was fun imagining what it must have been like to be assigned to the Portuguese Navy in the 1400s sailing off into the horizon

Our trip to Lisbon is to seek out the neighborhoods more than it is touring the top 10 sites. The large plaza which anchors the city has spectacular architecture and landmarks and we remember enjoying lunch & watching newbies on segways & scooters and the hawkers pitching their wares….tho the ocean views are spectacular.

When we visited the cloisters, the serenity of the plaza and the events in history that have been experienced during this amazing building’s tenure is remarkable. Prayers &meditation assigned for the deity & royal family 😏 okay then.

And we completely ‘get’ the location of the castle …. killer views 😊

Happening past the oldest continuing bookstore in the world ….think who has walked through those doors….and we get it, it is still a great book store.

We did enjoy a fun & informative walking tour – the native Lisbon guide gave us an excellent idea of the history of the area and he did not sugar coat the country’s successes and troubles. And the city’s resilience from their catastrophic earthquake in the late 1700s-all with no FEMA-remarkable.

We loved exploring the neighborhoods, wonderful food, good live music, tight cobblestone streets, laundry hanging from homes on the 3rd, 4th, & 5th floors, vendors setting up their markets in the morn.

We really did not have plans for the night. As we walked out of our lodging we first encountered the funicular – so we took it. Landing in a neighborhood that we had explored earlier in the day, soon we found a small cafe with a queue outside, hungry and intrigued by this tiny restaurant we decided to join in. This tiny restaurant is renowned for its specialty dish – slice on a stone. A raw steak is served on a sizzling piece of stone and your steak grills as much as you choose. This tiny restaurant is infamous in the city and as you sit at shared tables the meal is very social. We will never forget our great dining experience.

We are lucky enough to stay in Old Town Lisbon about 3 blocks from the beach and really experience the charm of our neighborhood. Lovely old buildings, narrow steeply pitched streets lined with plenty of cafes and small businesses. Thankfully we are close to city transit making it easy to get around town.

The main city plaza -enormous, lined with historic national buildings that face the bay that leads to the Atlantic.

Trolleys reminiscent of SF are a fun way to tour the sites.